


Dead Birds

by AutumnAgain



Series: Traitors AU [3]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Batman: A Death in the Family, Canonical Character Death, Gen, Necromancy, jason doesn't get any dialogue due to being dead, the actual death is offscreen and not really described, the fact that this takes place in a villain au is weirdly irrelevant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 05:00:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26846290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutumnAgain/pseuds/AutumnAgain
Summary: In which an older brother engages in creative problem solving.
Series: Traitors AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1954585
Kudos: 9





	Dead Birds

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in the same AU as "Traitors", so probably read that first for context. The gist is that the Team has split with the Justice League and is now working with the Light, Zatanna is apprenticed to Klarion, and Batman and Robin are enemies (who live in the same house, because Dick is still a minor and Bruce is still his legal guardian)  
> Jason was still adopted, and still became Batman's vigilante partner, but he isn't Robin because of the different implications with the name.

Robin stormed into the Cave, looking much more intimidating than he usually did when it was just the Team. Ignoring Conner and Wally, who had looked up from the tv (showing static, as usual) when the Zeta tubes announced his entrance, he marched directly up to Zatanna.

“Fix this,” he demanded. “You know chaos magic, you can save him.” She looked around helplessly at the others, but Megan and Artemis were out of the base and Kaldur was busy in the training room. Conner shrugged at her, obviously as lost as she was.

“Fix what, Robin? What happened?” He leveled her with what was very nearly a bat-glare, colder than anything she’d seen on his face. She couldn’t keep herself from taking a step back.

“My brother is dead. I need you to bring him back.”

“Bluebird?” she asked, gaping at him. “How? I thought everyone in Gotham knew that he was under your protection. Who would be crazy enough to--”

“Joker. Jay and Bats were in Qurac for a mission, Jay ran off on his own, Joker cornered him, and by the time Batman tracked them down the warehouse had already exploded. I don’t really know more than that, but I know where he’s buried. You can save him, can’t you? Raising the dead has to be chaos magic, and you’re the best.”

“I can’t--” the magician took a deep breath. “Look, I can raise zombies, easy, but that isn’t what you’re asking for. Theoretically, I could heal his wounds and reanimate him, but you have to understand, Robin; I wouldn’t be able to do anything for his mind. I could bring something back, but I can’t guarantee it would be your brother.” She glanced over at the couch, where Wally sat looking at Conner in confusion. “We both know how hard it is to fix a broken mind.”

“Talia owes me a favor,” he said, expression hard. “I’ll fix him, you just bring him back. He’s my baby brother. I’m not going to lose any more family, not when I can do something about it.”

“Okay,” she said shakily. “O-okay. Just give me a little time to prepare. I haven’t exactly practiced this kind of thing.”

“Meet me at the Gotham Zeta tube tonight at eleven. Bring whatever you need.”

He swept out as dramatically as he’d entered, the Zeta tubes announcing his departure.

“Okay,” said Zatanna. “I guess I’m raising the dead.”

* * *

The moon was a waxing gibbous, not very appropriate to witchcraft, and Gotham was as cold and overcast as ever. Zatanna shivered in her thin costume, wishing that she could cast a warming spell without risking it interfering with the resurrection. Robin met her at the Zeta tubes and led her to the Wayne family plot. Jason was buried next to Thomas, or at least he had been -- Robin had already unearthed the coffin, although he hadn’t opened it. Jason had already been dead for nearly a week.

“Laeh siht ydob fo sduow, egrup ti fo gnimlabme diulf, esrever sti yaced, laeh siht ydob…” Zatanna chanted, feeling the familiar chaos energy swirl through her and into the coffin. She kept it up for several minutes before breaking off and approaching the box.

“Is it done?” asked Robin. She shook her head.

“That was just the first step: healing his body so he won’t just die again after I bring him back. The next part is harder.” She opened the casket.

Jason was still dead, but at least now he looked like he’d only just stopped breathing. She ignored Robin’s slight gasp and started the next part of her spell.

“Nruter siht syob luos! Tel mih evil niaga! Nruter siht syob luos!” As she chanted she reached into her pet carrier and retrieved a struggling white rabbit. Slitting its throat over the body, she kept chanting. “Ekamnu sih htaed! Tel mih evil! Nruter sih luos! Tel mih evil!” She lost track of the time as she chanted, forgot the cold, forgot everything but the magic rushing through her and the dead boy she had promised to save. She moved through the rest of the spell on autopilot, placing crystals, altering her chant, and sprinkling herbs around as needed. She could do this. She had to do this.

“Gnirb mih kcab!” she yelled, with one final push of magic. The moon was low in the sky, and Robin had moved at some point to sit on Martha Wayne’s tombstone, rather than keep standing. In the predawn light, Jason Todd took a breath.

**Author's Note:**

> Things Dick did after this:  
> \- Drop off Jason with the League of Shadows so he could use their magic swimming pool  
> \- Make Talia Al Ghul promise to look after Jason during his recovery  
> \- Re-inter the empty coffin  
> \- Issue a challenge to see which of his friends could destroy the most abandoned Gotham amusement parks/carnivals/joke stores/past Joker hideouts without getting caught
> 
> Things Dick did not bother to do:  
> \- Tell Bruce


End file.
